Kuhl get skick… out of football!!

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, November 17, 2005

At the end of last school year, Kuhl was in Gary VanSumeren's weight training class. The new Unionville-Sebewaing Area head coach threw out a question to Kuhl, who is a soccer standout.

VanSumeren asked him if he would be the kicker for the football team.

At first, Kuhl laughed it off.

"I'm quite the kidder, so he thought I was joking," said VanSumeren. "I kept on him through the summer, and he realized we really wanted him to kick for us."

Kuhl and the coaching staff have not regretted the decision. No way!

The results have been impressive  maybe even surpassing what VanSumeren thought he would get out of Kuhl.

He's been nearly automatic on extra points, not missing one since Week 8.

"I've been kicking the soccer ball for about 14 years, so it's not that hard to adjust to it," said Kuhl.

Added VanSumeren: "Aaron is one of those kids as coaches that we wished we had for all four years.

"We understood his talent in soccer  and thought he could help us on the football field.

Kuhl isn't just any ordinary kicker who distances himself from the rest of the team during practice.

He takes part in all the conditioning drills which can typically last more than two hours.

This created a logistical problem early in the season as Kuhl would ordinarily have to leave for soccer just as football practice was beginning to pick up.

"Our hardest part of practice is for the first couple of hours  and he went through all of that," VanSumeren said. "With his soccer games on Thursdays, that's when we do a lot of special teams stuff. So we ended up simulating a lot of the things he did."

At first, the long days had Kuhl questioning if he made the right decision.

"It was pretty difficult at first, especially before school started because practices are a lot longer," he said. "I would come to football in the morning for 2 1/2 hours, then I would come back to football again at around three. Then soccer practiced started at 5:30 to run for another three hours.

"A couple of weeks in, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be."

All of those hours of combined football and soccer practice paid dividends, though, as Kuhl was selected as a first-team all-league performer in both sports.

"I really think football has helped me play soccer because of a lot of strength and conditioning," he said.

Although the kicking motion for both sports is similar, Kuhl said there were some differences he had to figure out through repetition.

"A soccer ball is lower to the ground. With a football, you have to be more precise. Otherwise, it would do a lot of weird stuff.

"When I started, I couldn't do a lot of the stuff I could do now."

Those acquired skills include more confidence on extra points, more length on kickoffs, and the ability to place a kickoff almost anywhere he wants.

"It's the same method with the soccer ball, but it's just how you address it," Kuhl said. It's pretty much second nature now."

Added VanSumeren: "He had to kick thousands of footballs before he could kick a football like he wanted to.

During last week's 35-0 Division 7 regional championship win over Inkster, it was apparent how far along Kuhl's skills have come.

Three times in the first quarter he had touchbacks, pinning Inkster on its own 20-yard line.

"It provides the defense with an emotional lift when you pin someone on the 20-yard line to start the game because the percentages of them driving the ball 80 yards on the first possession are pretty low," said USA assistant coach Dave Bitzer.

Traditionally, USA has gone for the 2-point conversion after its touchdowns. So it took the coaching staff until midseason to fully commit to the kicking game.

It was a decision both Bitzer and VanSumeren felt confident with.

"That was the decision Dave made," VanSumeren said. "We took a look at our 2-point conversion rate and weren't too happy with it.

"We thought Aaron could make every one of these, so we decided to commit to it  and not even go for two."

The extra points aren't for show either. They've paid off in critical games, as well.

His three PATs against Harbor Beach in a 21-20 victory in Week 9 proved to be the difference in that game.

"This is the first time we've had to deal with the kicking part of the game as strategy, but it's a huge part of the game that's developed for us," VanSumeren said.

The coaching staff has worked closely with the soccer program to make sure Kuhl would be able to do both sports.

"We have no problem with the soccer program," VanSumeren said. "Those guys work hard, they're athletes. The soccer program here has really come around. The senior class here has done a great job of putting USA soccer on the map."

The only regret VanSumeren has is that he didn't get Kuhl to come out sooner. All is not lost, though.

Despite Kuhl being a senior, VanSumeren said he's pursuing his younger brother Erik.

"We have a feeler out to him, VanSumeren joked.

For now, all sides are thankful to have this opportunity to be chasing another state title.

"I'm having a lot of fun this year. These are all my friends. It's a decision I'm glad I made," Kuhl said.

"We feel very fortunate that he's able to share his talents with us on the football field," VanSumeren added.